Russian launch vehicles

Early Russian/Soviet launch vehicles were based on ballistic missiles (see
"R" series of Russian missiles) and various
naming schemes have sprung up to identify particular rockets. These include
the official Russian "R" designations and various Western names (assigned
by the United States Department of Defense, NATO, and others) for the original
military missiles, and further names for the derived space rockets, including
manufacturers' codes and names derived from the major types of satellite
launched. For example, the rocket that placed the first satellite in orbit
is known as Sputnik (after the satellite), 8K71PS (the manufacturer's index),
R-7 (the ballistic missile from which it was derived), SL-1 (the American
Department of Defense designation for the missile), and SS-66 and Sapwood
(the NATO code number and name for the missile). More recently, the Russians
have given specific names to their rockets.